


A Shadow of a Man

by FFVI_Stories (Finn_The_Leafman)



Category: Final Fantasy VI
Genre: Post world's end, Takes place during the part with Shadow in Thamasa, They waited for Shadow - Freeform, before he left
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-21 20:55:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17050415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finn_The_Leafman/pseuds/FFVI_Stories
Summary: Edgar had always believed that Shadow was some other entity, something other than a human. The stories that were told of him made it seem that way. It seemed as if he were some otherworldly being that appeared when necessary to cut other people down for money and then left as quickly as he came.





	A Shadow of a Man

The man had been in really bad shape when the party stumbled upon him. After a long and gruesome fight with a Behemoth and his ghost, Sabin finally knelt down next to the assassin he knew as Shadow to inspect his wounds closer.

“These wounds are awful… ”

Interceptor, who had been by his master’s side, gave a whimper as if he knew that Shadow might not make it. Sabin’s not even sure how the dog managed to find his owner again, but he admired it’s loyalty. 

Edgar came up and knelt next to his brother, “Those do look really bad…. Do you think there’s even a hope of saving him? Should we save him? He’s Shadow.”

“And he saved us up on that floating continent.” Sabin replied, his voice even, “He may have ended up with the empire but he’s traveled with us many times, and helped us. Sure he was only in if he got paid, but I don’t think he deserves to die.” 

Sabin tried to lift Shadow, but the assassin cried out in pain and more blood poured from the wounds. Interceptor barked and growled in response as well. “Seems like just moving him isn’t the solution…” The brawler placed him gently on the ground.

“Of course.” Celes replied, moving to stand next to Edgar and Sabin, “You have to close the wounds first and stop the bleeding. He’ll never have a chance if you just carry him out and let him bleed all over you.” Sabin and Edgar moved over to let her work. Celes was a very strong fighter, and she knew just as much about healing. The brothers trusted that she knew what she was doing.

Sabin looked near where Celes had been standing. Gau was there, just staring at the battered and broken stranger in front of him. He got up and moved to where Gau was. “Hey kid, you okay?”

Gau seemed to have come out of a trance and he looked up at Sabin, then to Shadow. “He bleeding… a lot.. He not... make it.” He had seen many a monster die on the Velt and had watched many of his teammates get injured… but this was different.

“We’re going to do whatever we can for him. We-” Sabin was cut off by a loud, hoarse, scream. Gau covered his ears and closed his eyes and Sabin’s head whirled in the direction of the sound. A terrible smell wafted through the air, “Celes, what did you do!?” He had his eyes on the masked man who was taking heavy, shallow breaths. Interceptor looked just about ready to attack Celes for that.

“I am closing his wounds.” Celes replied, “The best way to do that is with fire.” Another scream pierced the air, this one not as loud and Sabin acted quickly, restraining the dog just as he was getting ready to lunge at Celes.

“Calm down Interceptor, We’re helping your master. You’ve got to trust us. This is necessary.” Interceptor just growled loudly, his hackles raised. All he saw was someone hurting his master. He struggled against Sabin’s grip, but the Brawler held him tight.

Edgar watched, leaning against a wall. He had never seen Shadow in such a vulnerable position before. It seemed so human to be suffering like this, he had believed Shadow was an entity beyond pain or emotions. All the rumors he had heard painted the man in that light.

It seemed Shadow didn’t even have enough energy left to scream because Celes repeated the process a few more times and all that he reacted with were sharp intakes of breath. Celes wasn’t phased by the fact that there was a vicious dog a few feet away that wanted to attack her for hurting his master, she just focused on the task at hand. After that, she cast a cure spell, though she knew it wouldn’t be enough. It would at least speed the healing of the closed wounds a little. Lastly, she turned him over so that he was on his back and bandaged up the wounds.

“He should be good to move now.” Celes replied, standing up and stepping back.

“Alright, but there’s one problem…” Sabin was still restraining the dog, “It seems that he’s out for your blood. Probably for hurting his master…”

Gau suddenly crept forward and knelt in front of the dog. Interceptor snarled at him. Sabin tried to warn him that the dog would bite, but Gau didn’t seem to notice what he said. He got onto all fours and started acting like a dog. Interceptor seemed confused and whimpered. Gau whimpered back, acting like a little puppy. After some more mimicking, Interceptor seemed to relax.

“I don’t know what you did, kid, but thank you” Sabin replied, letting go of the dog and moving to Shadow’s side. It seemed like the man wasn’t even conscious anymore as Sabin gently picked him up, but he could hear the slightest of sharp inhales. Interceptor looked at his master and moved to stand next to him, licking at his dangling right arm with a whimper.

So they all headed out of the cave, staying relatively silent. If any monsters were encountered, Sabin waited on the sidelines while everyone else fought.

After exiting the cave, everyone boarded the airship, and the other members of the group were surprised to see Shadow again and in such bad condition. Cyan was particularly surprised. He hadn’t been there at the floating continent, but he had been told about Shadow saving them.

They headed as quickly as they could for the nearest town, which happened to be Thamasa. There, they were able to find a vacant house. They bandaged Shadow up and placed him in the bed upstairs. There were a few people designated to stay with him until he recovered. They were Sabin, Cyan, and Edgar. Sabin sat on the bed opposite the one Shadow was in, watching him. Edgar was nearby. Interceptor was sitting on the floor at Shadow’s bedside, waiting.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Sabin asked.

“Of course, Celes did a good job closing up those wounds. As long as he doesn’t move around, he should be fine.”

Almost as if to challenge Edgar, Shadow began tossing and turning in his sleep. He looked panicked and his breathing was heavy.

“Looks like he’s having a nightmare…” Edgar remarked, It was another very human thing he had now witnessed with Shadow.

“Yeah, sure looks like it’s a bad one… He might reopen his wounds with all that thrashing…” 

“I’ve got it.” Edgar replied, standing up and going over to Shadow, holding him still by the shoulders. He looked directly at the closed eyes of the sleeping man. Nobody was ever able to get this close to Shadow.

He could see skin, painted a bluish black... as well as red under the eyes. It seemed there was a human face under that mask after all. Edgar began to wonder what it looked like. Once the thrashing quieted down, Edgar let go of Shadow’s shoulders and moved to stand closer to his head.

“Brother… what are you doing?” Sabin asked cautiously.

Edgar didn’t answer. With one hand he lifted Shadow’s head, and the other sought out the knot that secured his mask to his face. Quickly, he began to undo it, dainty fingers making it an easy task. Soon it was done, all he had to do was take the mask and headpiece off.

As soon as Edgar removed his hand, a pale one wrapped itself around his wrist. The inventor froze. He suddenly found himself locking eyes with Shadow’s cold dark gaze.

“Do you want to lose your hand?” He replied in a monotone voice. He’s killed for less and Edgar knew it. Shadow’s other hand was pressed tightly against his lower jaw in an attempt to keep his mask on.

“N-No…” Edgar replied, sounding frightened. Shadow just had that effect even on someone as confident as him.

“Nobody has ever seen my face and lived to tell about it. I plan to keep it that way.” He retracted his hand from Edgar’s and tied his mask up tightly with both. His expression had turned into a glare which had the inventor pinned in place. Shadow was certainly human, but he didn’t like to let other people know, it seemed. 

Slowly Edgar backed up and then left the room altogether. Cyan entered the room shortly after, bringing up some food for all of them. “Oh good… thou art awake. That certainly makes things easier.” He handed a bowl and spoon to Shadow and then one to Sabin, and then sat down in an empty chair with his own. Shadow’s gaze had lightened from a glare, but he just stared into his soup.

“Are you okay?” Sabin asked Shadow from the other bed.

“There’s no need to worry. It’s just a scratch…” He replied, hoarse. 

“It most certainly was not.” Cyan replied. “According to what I heard from Celes, you could have easily died.”

Shadow looked at Cyan, changing the subject, “....I’ve seen you before…”

“Yes, on the Phantom train.” Sabin replied before gulping down his soup as if he hadn’t eaten in years.

“That was.. quite an adventure…” Cyan remarked. Shadow had always been in the background as much as Cyan had seen him. He never draws attention to himself. Several times he had forgotten the man was there while they were in the Phantom train. Cyan’s gaze went from Shadow to the dog. He had forgotten his name. He was always by Shadow’s side. Sometimes just as sneaky as his master.

“You didn’t make this soup, did you Cyan?” Sabin remarked, his bowl empty now. Cyan shook his head.

“Relm and Strago decided to stay in their home for the night. They cooked up this stew and had some leftovers.” Cyan replied, starting to eat his own. He paused, “Shadow, was it?” The assassin nodded, “You should eat.”

“I can’t.” Shadow replied simply. He refused to take off his mask to eat in front of anyone. Shadow glanced at the dog nearby. “Make sure Interceptor gets fed too.”

“Of course” Sabin replied, “I’ll go get him some food, since I’m finished with my own.” With that, he headed downstairs. There was silence between the two men that remained in the room, before Cyan broke it.

“Why can’t you eat?” He locked eyes with Shadow, but didn’t feel intimidated by the man.

One action conveyed what the problem was. Shadow put two fingers on the edge of his mask and tugged lightly.

“That indeed seems to be a problem. I should have known. I will let you have some privacy, but wait for Sabin before eating if you’re so keen on not revealing your identity.” And with that, Cyan stood and went downstairs. Shadow watched him go.

Within the next few moments, Sabin returned and brought along food for Interceptor, and then he left, obviously having been told by Cyan to leave Shadow alone.

Once Sabin was gone, Shadow looked to the dog. “Watch the door, Interceptor.” The dog gave a nod and started eating. He knew Interceptor would bark if he heard an intruder. Once he felt safe enough to, he tugged off the bottom portion of his mask and started eating. He would never tell anyone else, but this was one of his favorite dishes, an Arrowny family special. Realms mom had made it the day she had found him.

Memories came flooding back to him. Memories of her… memories of Baram… memories of Relm’s birth. He felt a tear roll down his cheek, only for him to wipe it away. He needed to stop this. He had killed his emotions. He didn’t miss those days. He didn’t miss being loved. That’s what he kept telling himself.

After the food, Shadow put his mask back on and put the empty bowl aside, Interceptor hopped onto the bed and curled up at the end of it, joining his master in sleep.


End file.
